Final Thoughts

“…And then it will be time to make the most of an experience I’ll never get back…”

You may or may not recognize this quote from my very first post nearly eight weeks ago. I was quite homesick when I first landed in Dublin, missing my family and friends so much and unsure of what this whole experience was going to entail. Eight weeks and a giant hole in my pocket later, I find myself fully satisfied with my Irish adventures and wondering an all too familiar thought…where in the world did the time go?! 

Since my remaining hours in Ireland are numbered, I am going to make this final post as short as possible. We would all go insane if I wrote about every detail of my last week, so you can ask me all the questions you want when I get home! Anyways, to sum up my last week in a nutshell:

Last Friday, I embarked on my 6-day tour of the four corners of Ireland. There were 16 of us on the tour, none of which I had met beforehand, but soon became friends with nonetheless. I was the youngest traveler and the only American, but several of the Aussie girls were 23 and 24 so we had a good time together. Mark, our Irish tour guide for the week, was very upbeat and personable. It certainly wasn’t a relaxing trip with so much ground to cover in such a short period of time, but we all had great “craic!” (Irish word for fun).

The journey began with a four-hour drive to Belfast, located on the east coast of Northern Ireland where sterling is the only currency. Thus, I couldn’t avoid a trip to the ATM and more international fees…shucks. This was my first time out of the Republic of Ireland and it was definitely a different atmosphere! I found Belfast to be a very historical city with a lot of tension between Catholics and Protestants, and home to the worst violence Ireland has ever endured. While in Belfast, we took a “Black Taxi” tour of the murals that these two groups painted in opposition to one another during The Troubled times (1960s-1998). We walked around the city for a while and settled into our hostel after dinner. We all talked over drinks for several hours and got to know each other a little better. The five Aussie girls who were my roommates became my closest buddies on the trip. Unfortunately, a very large bachelor party caused lots of problems in our hostel that night, but at least we were only staying there one night. I enjoyed the different lifestyle in Belfast even though we weren’t there for long. 

Inside a Belfast cathedral

Courtyard

One of the murals that we saw 

Peace wall that goes on for miles

Downtown Belfast

Dock where the Titanic was made!

On Saturday, we were off to Derry, another historical city northwest of Belfast. Along the way, we stopped to walk the 30-meter high Carrick-a-rede rope bridge and explore the fascinating basal rocks of Giant’s Causeway. Both were memorable experiences! Once in Derry, we went on a walking tour of the city, which happens to be the only walled city in all of Ireland. The view from the top of the wall was amazing! I had a very questionable cheeseburger for dinner (don’t ask me why I ordered a cheeseburger at an Indian kebab shack cause I have no idea) and my stomach felt queasy the rest of the night. Oh well! We all met up with a few other Paddywagon tours on a pubcrawl that night. It was lots of fun!!

View from rope bridge

Carrick Island

Crossing the bridge! Don't look down...

It's a lot higher than it looks!

Approaching Giant's Causeway

Rocks of Giant's Causeway

:)

Could've easily spent a full day exploring

Gorgeous views!

Hiding behind "the Giant's bridge to Scotland"

View of Derry city from top of wall

 Downtown Derry

Then Sunday rolled around and we drove south to Galway, back to the Republic (yay Euros!). I was ready to get off the bus after a four-hour drive, but I did get a couple naps in! Galway was cold and damp, a huge difference from the gorgeous summer weather Shaun and I experienced there just a week before. My favorite part of Galway this time around was meeting up with my very good friend from PSU, Leah Tunney, who is currently touring Europe with friends and was accidentally staying in the same hostel as me that night! Seriously…what are the chances?!

On Monday, we made several stops on our way to the Dingle Peninsula, south of Galway. We explored Dunguaire Castle, Kylemore Abbey, and the Burren area. All of the sights were beautiful!! Stopping for lunch in Doolin brought back wonderful memories from Shaun’s visit. Then it was time for my favorite attraction of all, the Cliffs of Moher! Once again, I felt as though I was in a dream as I stood on top of this stunning natural wonder. I avoided getting too close to the edge after learning of five tourists falling to their deaths in the past, but was still able to take some great pictures. To anyone reading this who is planning to visit Ireland in the future – you are obligated to explore these breathtaking cliffs! That night, we stayed at Paddywagon’s (tour company) own pub in Dingle called the Randy Leprechaun…how Irish! This pub is only open to Paddywagon tourists and it happened to be karaoke night! Obviously, my lovely singing voice stole the show…ha! It was a great night :)   

Dunguaire Castle

Kylemore Abbey

Cliffs in the Burren

So pretty!

:)

The edge I'm standing on is about 20 meters high!

The Burren area

Cliffs of Moher!

Amazing!

Explore at your own risk...

"8th Wonder of the World"

 

 Don't look down!

On Tuesday, we drove along the Ring of Kerry, a tourist trail of spectacular beauty located south of the Cliffs of Moher. We made several photo stops throughout our tour, including a stop at the most beautiful beach my eyes have ever seen! Another highlight of the day was our discovery of Murphy’s homemade ice cream…who would’ve thought that sea salt ice cream was so mouth-watering?! We spent the afternoon and night in Kilarney, a popular tourist town within County Kerry. After walking around town and embarking on a horse and buggy tour of Kilarney National Park, we all ate dinner and headed out to the pub for one last night of Irish fun together! The band reminded me a lot of My Hero Zero at Penn State, so you can imagine I was loving life :)

Kerry coastline in dense fog!

The prettiest beach ever!

Cliffs on the beach

Beautiful!

:)

The amazing Murphy's ice cream...

Kilarney National Park

The longest First Communion procession ever through the streets of Kilarney

A so-called "side" of potatoes in Kilarney

The largest hostel room ever

All of a sudden it was Wednesday, the last day of our tour. We drove an hour and a half to Cork where most of our group explored Blarney Castle and kissed The Stone. Since I had already done so during my prior weekend in Cork, I decided to explore the gorgeous gardens surrounding Blarney Castle. I could have very easily spent a full day just walking around the castle, but time was not in my favor. Nonetheless, I’m satisfied with what I saw! Then it was time to head on our four-hour journey back to Dublin. Those of us who didn’t sleep watched PS. I Love You…such a good movie! The last stop on our tour was the Guinness Storehouse where I got to “craft the perfect pint” this time. You’d be proud of me, Uncle Har… I was more successful than I thought I was going to be! 

Blarney gardens

...............

...............

Blarney Lake

This one's for you, E-POBS

So pretty!

 Crafting the perfect pint of Guinness

I returned to the Conrans around 8:00 that night feeling ravenous, dirty, and exhausted. I found out that my room had flooded over the weekend thanks to a leaking radiator, so Trish had spent three days drying out my rug, mattress, and laundry…I guess my tour was perfect timing! I scarfed down some pasta, took a hot shower, and crashed immediately. What an action-packed six days I had! 

This past Thursday was my last day teaching at Delgany National School. I spent some time in each classroom helping out with whatever activity was taking place at the time. When the clock struck two, it was time for final goodbyes. It was a very bittersweet moment, just like my last day at Cole Manor in March. I feel incredibly lucky, blessed, and thankful to have been welcomed into such a wonderful school. There is no doubt that I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life!

On Friday, despite the heaviest rain and winds yet, I went on a field trip to Pine Forest Nature Centre with the first and second classes. The students were supervised in a number of indoor activities while their teachers got to sit in a private cabin all day to talk and read magazines and drink tea. If only I could say the same about American field trips...

It is currently Saturday afternoon and I am curled up by the fire during an Irish hurricane. It’s a shame that the weather is by no means cooperating for my last weekend in Ireland, but then again beggers can’t be choosers. I think I will brave the elements anyway to venture one last time into town. Trish is out food shopping for my last two dinners here – I have no idea what she’s making but I can’t wait!!

Tomorrow I am going to the sixth class graduation ceremony before it’s time to pack up eight weeks of Irish adventures into one broken, rank-smelling suitcase. I still can’t fathom the fact that it’s all over. Already? Really?

I am so glad to have had this rare opportunity to travel abroad and to make the most of my time here. All of my worries and doubts coming over here were quickly resolved and I can’t thank the Conran family enough for keeping me in line and spoiling me! I will forever remember the teachers I worked with, the friends I made, and the experiences I had. I could not have asked for anything more!

So, IRELAND – until we meet again, thanks for all the memories!

Monday morning marks another bittersweet moment … my flight back to America to begin writing the post-college chapter of my life. I’m scared for and clueless about what it’s going to say, but only time will tell. I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends, regular sunny weather, and finally being able to watch the Phillies again (even though Amaro could probably sell the entire franchise for a bucket of socks with how they’re playing right now).

Anyways…

Tell the world I’m coming home!

Love you guys,

Anna